Pondering promptness, precision and perfection
This past Thursday night I spent at Tings & Times in Hatfield, my second visit there. The invite I got clearly stated that the bands playing are Gently Scar’d and Walt, in that order, starting at 8PM. Looking forward to returning there and the prospect of their simply delicious food, I made plans to get myself out there.
The food and service was as good if not better than I remember (the “Once bitten” pita is divine!!), but that’s where my compliments end.
Instead of Gently Scar’d, Walt was first up and started some time after 9PM – an hour later than advertised. By the time Gently Scar’d started playing, it was well past 10, and I left having heard only about 3 of their songs – which was great by the way – I listened to their samples online and the live show was exactly what I had in mind.
I start working at 7am in the mornings, and very seldom put myself through a late night during the week – grinding through work the next day is usually not worth it. I understand that the students probably don’t mind. I also get having a lesser known band playing the same night as a well known band in order to get them some more exposure, but then it should be advertised correctly. I don’t want to be forced to sit through a relatively shitty band before getting to hear the band I paid for. I don’t want to be made to wait an hour later than advertised. Surely having the lesser known band play afterwards actually has more merit – the place will be as full as it’ll get for the night and with the alcohol having flowed the band might get a better review than when playing to a sober half-full student crowd?
Tings is not unique in this approach – I’ve encountered this late-start-band-switch scenario at Cafe Barcelona and a few others.
This all gets me back to the almost extinct phenomenon (at least in my experience here in Pretoria, South Africa) of something working well as it’s supposed to first time around and the frustration of knowing it used to be like that, back in the day.
Service levels going backwards – sure you get the uber politically correct, perfect telephone etiquette greeting when some call centre calls you or heaven forbid you need to call them, but that’s it. Experiencing stupidity that so thick you can reach out and touch it is almost inevitable. God help you if you need to dial 10111, and the corporates are really not much better - politer yes, better no.
Getting something, anything fixed became a game of spare-part roulette - the “repairman” simply picks the easiest replaceable part and replacing it at the customer’s expense with an attitude of “Let’s see if that works”. No more troubleshooting. Consumerist handyman-ship (that might be a new word?!). Replace all parts until the customer is too broke to continue, so frustrated he rather buys a new product, or in the odd case gets lucky soon enough that everyone “wins”. Well, sort of.
I can just mention Telkom, and everyone will have a story of inefficient service, products and the frutration of not having an alternative. Strictlty speaking we now have an alternative, but it’s not a very good one, and it seems to be the case in many commercial sectors in our country. The supplier, ( in the start of this article the supplier being Tings’ - my supplier of entertainment for the evening ) knows well enough that your choices are limited enough that regardless of how shitty they treat you while taking your money, chances are you’ll be back anyway. Perhaps it’s as simple as just not giving a shit - I guess anything’s possible.
Perhaps I’ve grown old and square, but I don’t think so.
Actually no, that’s impossible, it can’t be, it’s them, they’re out to get me!
That’s it, I’m done. I’m of my soap box - no solutions offered, not today at least. The rant has had it’s run. I suspect time and the law of averages will sort it all out, failing which we’ll have to pin our hopes on 2012. At least with this post I’ve successfully fended of death-by-deskjob-boredom for another day.
Live long and prosper…..
